He told SAFC.com: "It was important for me to come here and play more minutes in England.

"The period at Leeds has been difficult. I had a good start and then the manager got sacked and I got an injury also, so it was really difficult.

"So I hope to get a new start now here in England by playing for Sunderland and helping them to win games."

In his unveiling, De Bock revealed that he had spoken to some former Sunderland players from Belgium when the possibility of the move came up.

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

Click to playTap to play

The video will start in 8Cancel

Play now

As well as their positive reviews of the club, De Bock also revealed that he has watched the Sunderland 'Til I Die Netflix documentary and liked what he saw, despite the misery on the pitch displayed in it.

"I know this is a big club that was previously in the Premier League and I also saw the documentary on Netflix," he said.

"That gave me a good image of the club and how everything works here.

"I wouldn't say I know a lot about the club, but I am here to find out now."